In the preseason, every team is undefeated, and every position group is poised to become the best in the league, potentially. It’s summer, where optimism is as prevalent as sunscreen, and rosy talking points flow like soft-serve ice cream. Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr says his unit is in a better place now than they were at this time.
He even said his group is “light years ahead” of where they were at this point a year ago.
He could be telling the honest, plain truth here.
Orr (see what I did there?), he could just be spewing the kind of uplifting coachspeak that is ubiquitous this time of year. Ravens fans will hope that what Orr said on Saturday turns out to be true:
“We’re light years ahead of where we were at. We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re ahead of where we were at last year.”
Last year’s defense was very one-sided. They were stout, to the point of dominance, against the run. Meanwhile, they were also the league’s worst against the pass. They finished second-to-last in the NFL in pass defense, with only the Jacksonville Jaguars being worse.
And as even the Ravens’ official website points out, they were dead last in pass yards allowed through the first 10 weeks of the season. That is alarming, given how the league has gone out of its way to tweak its rules to facilitate more passing.
On this metric, there is nowhere to go but up, and plenty of room for growth.
Orr knows this was unacceptable. “We didn’t like what we did last year, especially the first half of the season, and we made a vow that we wouldn’t do that again,” he said on Saturday.
“So, we know that’s just words. We have to put action behind it. But so far, it’s throughout the spring and this first week of training camp, the action’s been real good, so I’m happy with the group.”
Given that Orr was just a first-year DC last season, it stands to reason that his guys and his system are making massive strides this training camp. Another year of cohesion can go a long way, and fast.
Another reason to believe what Orr said here is the overhaul of the secondary. The unit, which got torched last campaign (as we already pointed out), got a significant makeover this offseason. This makeover was certainly an upgrade as well.
The defensive backs will be a much more talented group this time around. Ravens fans everywhere can not wait to see first-round pick Malachi Starks in action.
And the thought of Starks pairing with Kyle Hamilton is enough to make even the most cynical Ravens fan feel warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps we’ll get a better idea of whether Orr is correct or not when the first preseason game, against the Indianapolis Colts, arrives on August 7.
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